Those who subscribe to Apple TV+ are all too familiar with the streamer’s quality-over-quantity approach to content creation. The service has already made waves with inventive new television shows such as Severance, Silo and Bad Monkey. On Jan, 22, Apple premiered its latest series, Prime Target, with an eye-catching two-part event sure to suck you in for the whole adventure. Though the series is still fresh, now seems like a good time to unpack the tone, narrative and conclusion of the first two episodes, and see what we can learn about the future of the show.
New episodes will air each Wednesday until the finale on Mar. 5, offering a single-season experience outlining the chaotic adventures of mathematics prodigy Edward Brooks. Whether you’re anxiously awaiting the third episode of the show, or you’re still considering putting this one on your watch list, let’s dive into Prime Target‘s explosive premiere.
How Does ‘Prime Target’ Set the Tone?
Before the series dives into the brilliant mathematical brain of Edward Brooks, we get a cold open in Baghdad. A mother and daughter converse calmly while sharing some ice cream, before a massive explosion rocks the entire venue, killing nearly everyone inside. The audience doesn’t get many details about the explosion, nor the casualties, but we see that a massive underground library has been unearthed beneath the storefront, possibly containing a wealth of hidden ancient knowledge. We then leap backward and meet Brooks as he studies complex proofs and theories regarding prime numbers while attending the University of Cambridge. He exclusively takes notes using a pen and paper, eschewing modern technology and struggles to maintain warm personal relationships. Brooks seems to only have one friend at school, a woman named Fiona, but he patently refuses to chase romantic interests for anything more than one-night stands.
We then meet Edward’s mentor at the university – Professor Osborne – a brilliant and naturally gifted mathematician like Brooks. Sadly, he’s headed toward retirement due to a recent diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Before taking his leave from the school, the professor attempts to connect Brooks with a new mentor, Robert Mallinder, who has a reputation for treating scholastics with the same vigor and competitive nature as professional sporting events. Brooks and Mallinder can’t stand each other at first, though the latter’s wife quickly recognizes that the pair has more in common than they think. She invites the student to dine at their home and later unveils that her specialty (ancient Arab science), has led her to the recently discovered library. She shows Edward a few photos of the site, and he quickly begins establishing a pattern based on equations and symbols scrawled on the ancient walls.
The Numbers Reveal Something Fishy
In his haste, Brooks scribbles a series of mathematical proofs directly on his hosts’ tablecloth and demands to continue researching Andrea Mallinder’s findings. Robert shuts him down, demanding that he double-check the work himself before allowing the student to investigate any further. His behavior is extremely cagey, and it is revealed shortly thereafter that the professor is being closely monitored in all corners of his home and office. As we find out, security cameras are watching Mallinder’s every move, and a shadowy figure reaches out to him via an encrypted email address demanding that he cease operations on his prime number research. The next day, he explains that Brooks can no longer base his thesis on prime numbers, God’s cipher and the DNA of existence, despite Brooks’ insistence that he’s right on the verge of a mathematical breakthrough.
Seemingly fearing for his life, Mallinder deletes all prime number research from the school’s database, destroys his tablecloth and even steals all of Brooks’ folders containing the bulk of his research. This sends Brooks into an insatiable rage, leading the student to freak out and destroy his superior’s entire office. Brooks is ultimately expelled for doing this after he is caught red-handed by a security guard at the university. That night, Mallinder is found dead in the faculty parking lot, with signs suggesting that he committed suicide. Though he left behind a note, both Brooks and Andrea find the situation extremely suspicious. As episode one of Prime Target comes to a close, it seems as though the shadowy forces attempting to block Brooks’ research are extending tendrils all over the globe, setting the stage for a shocking tale of international espionage and hidden secrets.
Episode 2 Pulls Back the Curtain
It’s a good thing that Prime Target premiered with two back-to-back episodes, as the cliffhanger from the pilot may have been too much for some audiences to handle. As episode two kicks off, we are introduced to NSA agent Taylah Sanders, who is tasked with monitoring several brilliant academics, including Mallinder. Taylah works alongside a pair of agents named Ricky Olson and Alex Pope, spending most of her day carefully examining computer screens and performing 24-hour surveillance. As we come to learn, the NSA believes that the next world-ending superweapon will be wrought by a well-meaning academic, rendering some fields of study entirely off-limits. The proofs that Brooks and Mallinder were working on, including those scribbled on the tablecloth, apparently set off alarm bells, resulting in Taylah offering the aforementioned cryptic email.
At first, Taylah believes that she has video evidence of Mallinder’s suicide, and clips it to pass along to the higher-ups at her agency. Then, in a shocking twist, she recognizes some inconsistencies in the video feed, suggesting that her camera may have been hacked and that the footage was doctored. Fearing that her research has led to the death of an innocent man, she brings her findings to Olson, telling him that their unit may be compromised. Before she can finish delivering her findings, Olson is shot dead right in front of her by an unseen sniper from hundreds of yards away. Taylah can’t even process what she’s seen before an armed man on a motorcycle attempts to run her down, prompting her to leap into the ocean and swim to safety.
Edward Becomes Tied up in the Conspiracy
As Taylah and company uncover a web of conspiracy that may go all the way to the top, Edward Brooks also looks further into the Mallinder situation. Andrea sends a colleague to investigate the library in her place to stay back and assist the student, who works remotely after facing expulsion. While digging through Mallinder’s old files and notes on former students, Brooks comes across a series of notes regarding the icosahedron – a shape believed by ancient Greek cultures to represent the dimensions of the universe. Andrea reveals the identity of a former student, Safiya Zamil, who committed suicide 30 years ago under mysterious circumstances after studying the icosahedron under her husband’s tutelage. This sends Brooks down a whole new rabbit hole and leads him directly to a shadowy organization known only as the Kaplar Institute.
While digging for more information on Kaplar, a representative from the organization reaches out to Brooks directly, asking to enlist his help with their research of prime numbers. Days earlier, this would have been a dream job for the troubled student, though now he’s wary of the entire situation. As Prime Target episode two comes to a close, Edward begins to suspect that he’s come face to face with the organization that killed his professor and went to great lengths to cover it up. Like all great equations, it’s just a matter of digging through the data and finding the numbers to get to the bottom of the whole thing.
